REVIEW: ESTACIÓN ROCAFORT (2024)

by Elena Romea (*)

ESTACIÓN ROCAFORT (2024) is a Spanish horror film directed by Luis Prieto (SHATTERED, KIDNAP), set in the uncanny underground of Rocafort metro station in Barcelona. The movie released in September 2024 is written by the director, Iván Ledesma (XTREME, AWARENESS) and Ángel Agudo (SWEET HOME). It is based on the perception of Rocafort Station as a cursed place in Barcelona. The urban legend says that workers from Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) avoid being assigned to this station due to stories about mysterious voices echoing through the tunnels around midnight. With its flickering lights and poorly lit corridors, the station has become the perfect setting for local horror tales. According to these legends, Rocafort has a evil influence that lures the desperate to their doom. This reputation has generated numerous urban stories, solidifying the station’s image as a place surrounded by mystery and fear. If you can read Spanish check here and here for further information on the matter.

The plot centers on Laura (Natalia Azahara) who has just started working on that station. Then she learns some stories about strange deaths that have taken place there and begins suffering from vivid hallucinations. After some investigation, she contacts Román (Javier Gutierrez), an ex-cop involved in similar affairs there in the past, to help solve the mystery around her and the underground station.

The movie not only works perfectly well in the making by creating beautiful frames of Barcelona and the claustrophobic and tense atmosphere inside the underground station but also portrays the isolation and dread of the metro’s labyrinthine tunnels. It is true that I am not a fan of  some acting that could have been better but the story is good enough to keep your attention wanting more and more of it. Time flies while watching.  Expectation fulfilled with this new Spanish Horror feature.

Fans of psychological and urban horror will find this film an unsettling exploration of fear lurking in the mundane. Not sure when it will be shown outside Spain but, trust me, try not to miss it.  It has what all horror flick aficionados want to find in a movie: screams, suspense, legends, mystery, monsters, and thrills.

__________________________________________________________

Elena Romea is the woman in charge of SPANISHFEAR.COM, Horror Rises from Spain  and Un Fan de Paul Naschy . A literature and cinema researcher, Ph.D. in Spanish studies with a thesis about the mystic filmmaker José Val del Omar. She has published in different media and books such as Fangoria and Hidden Horror. She has also been in charge of several translations including Javier Trujillo’s complete works, La Mano Film Fest, The Man who Saw Frankenstein Cry, and many more.